Re: OT: Accelerated 3D GFX cards with Free drivers (was Re: [linux-audio-user] Re: The best distro for music creation)
15 Dec
2005
15 Dec
'05
12:03 a.m.
Matrox G400 - the most well-supported, most stable X11 drivers that
are available.
Yea, it won't give you insane framerates with OpenGL. But if you are
looking for a 3D capable card, with awesome drivers, there is no
substitute.
It not only won't give you insane framerates, it won't give you livable
framerates on a lot of stuff. FlightGear, for instance, is unusable
on either a Matrox G400 or a G550 (unless you like 2-4 frames per second
on an Athlon XP 2000+ box). Then, on top of that, in OpenGL scenes that
involve lots of detailed texturing on lots of polys, both G400 and G550
users have routinely reported full system hard lockups with DMA idle
timeouts (see the BTS for XF86, X.org, freedesktop.org, the DRI project,
and the forums at Matrox for more). But don't bother mentioning any of
the above to Matrox -- they'll simply tell you that however free their
drivers may be, OpenGL is *not supported in Linux*, and any OpenGL
problems you have, you're on your own. That right there is a
showstopper. I bought a Matrox card *because* of the open drivers;
when their response to my hard lockup problems was "we don't support
OpenGL on Linux", I ended up feeling like I'd been taken.
-c
15 Dec
15 Dec
1:28 a.m.
New subject: OT: Accelerated 3D GFX cards with Free drivers (was Re: [linux-audio-user] Re: The best distro for music creation)
On Thu, Dec 15, 2005 at 04:03:34AM +0000, cmetzler(a)speakeasy.net wrote:
It not only won't give you insane framerates, it
won't give you
livable framerates on a lot of stuff.
Well, remember that the card doesn't have a hardware geometry engine
for transform and lighting. Of course it's going to be slow on a lot
of cutting edge stuff.
If that's the issue, see Lee's comment about free software and
priorities that started this dicussion.
But don't bother mentioning any of
the above to Matrox -- they'll simply tell you that however free their
drivers may be, OpenGL is *not supported in Linux*, and any OpenGL
problems you have, you're on your own. That right there is a
showstopper. I bought a Matrox card *because* of the open drivers;
when their response to my hard lockup problems was "we don't support
OpenGL on Linux", I ended up feeling like I'd been taken.
Heh, I think you misunderstand how free drivers work. You're caught
up in the Windows model. Here's how it works (more or less) on
Windows:
1) Hardware vendor writes a driver some API MS provides
2) You communicate with hardware vendor for support of the driver,
which may or may not work well.
Free software drivers work like this:
1) Vendor provides a sample implementation or hardware documentation
to someone or some organization
2) That individual (who usually has nothing to do with the
manufacturer!) produces a driver
3) You communicate to the hardware vendor and they say "WTF, we didn't
write that dude...", AND THEY ARE RIGHT
In the Windows case, I understand why you'd expect to get help from
the vendor.
In the free software driver case, I don't really see why you would
expect that.
--
Ross Vandegrift
ross(a)lug.udel.edu
"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who
make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians
have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine
man in the bonds of Hell."
--St. Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram, Book II, xviii, 37
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cmetzler＠speakeasy.net -
ross＠jose.lug.udel.edu